Abstract
Preeclampsia, a disorder with a heterogeneous physiopathology, can be attributed to mater-nal, fetal, and/or placental factors. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) refer to a class of non-coding RNAs, the essential regulators of biological processes; their differential expression has been associated with the pathogenesis of multiple diseases. The study aimed to identify lncRNAs, expressed in the placentas and plasma of patients who presented with preeclampsia, as potential putative biomarkers of the disease. In silico analysis was performed to determine lncRNAs differentially expressed in the placentas of patients with preeclampsia, using a previously published RNA-Seq dataset. Seven placentas and maternal plasma samples collected at delivery from preterm preeclamptic patients (≤37 gestational weeks of gestation), and controls were used to validate the expression of lncRNAs by qRT-PCR. Six lncRNAs were validated and differentially expressed (p < 0.05) in the preeclampsia and control placentas: UCA1 and HCG4 were found upregulated, and LOC101927355, LINC00551, PART1, and NRAD1 downregulated. Two of these lncRNAs, HCG4 and LOC101927355, were also detected in maternal plasma, the latter showing a significant decrease (p = 0.03) in preeclamptic patients compared to the control group. In silico analyses showed the cytoplasmic location of LOC101927355, which suggests a role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. The detection of LOC101927355 in the placenta and plasma opens new possibilities for understanding the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and for its potential use as a biomarker.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 1253 |
Journal | Biomedicines |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 27 May 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding: This research was funded by ANID/CONICYT—FONDECYT Postdoctorado 3140038 (to L.J.M.); ANID/CONICYT—FONDECYT de Iniciación 11190998 (to G.N.); ANID/CONICYT— FONDECYT de Iniciación 11181249 (to L.J.M.); ANID/CONICYT— FONDECYT Regular 1201851 (to S.E.I.); ANID/CONICYT—FONDECYT Postdoctorado 3160622 (to M.S.); ANID Basal funding for Scientific and Technological Center of Excellence, IMPACT, FB210024 (to G.N, L.J.M., and S.E.I.). This research was also supported, in part, by the Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), and, in part, with federal funds from NICHD/NIH/DHHS under Contract No. HHSN275201300006C. Dr. Romero contributed to this work as part of his official duties as an employee of the United States Federal Government.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
- cellular localization
- lncRNAs
- placenta
- RNA-Seq